Hangman Adam Page Explains Why His AEW Feud Against Swerve Strickland Resonated With Fans

The feud between Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland has become one of the most celebrated rivalries in AEW history, and has taken both men to new heights over the past two years. Before the two men crossed paths, Strickland was getting more opportunities than ever, while Page had just wrapped up his role in The Elite's feud with the Blackpool Combat Club, but now they are two of the most important stars in the entire company, and in a recent interview with Bleacher Report, the current AEW World Champion explained why he thinks the fans were so invested in their story.

"When Swerve first confronted me in 2023, almost two years at this point, I think fans of the two of us were starting to have different feelings about us," Page said. "For me, there was a little bit of, I don't want to say apathy, but there was a little something where people felt and kind of knew. You could get the feeling through the screen that I wasn't all in it. There was some hesitation, some part of me that just wasn't in it in the way that I had been before. And I think people were kind of feeling that."

While the fans could sense that something wasn't exactly clicking when it came to Page in 2023, the same couldn't be said for Strickland as Page feels like the fans saw him as the next main event star. "That was for me. For Swerve, there was kind of a feeling, he had a lot of momentum. There was a feeling of like 'This is going to be a guy who is a star here. He's going to be a main event guy. He's going to be a world champion.' He even called his shot and said as much, that he would be the first Black AEW champion, and he was. So I think those two things colliding at once was extremely exciting."

Throughout their feud, Page and Strickland did things to each other that have gone down as some of the most violent, sadistic, and personal moments in AEW history. Strickland invading Page's home which forced the current AEW World Champion to uproot his entire family and move house, Page drinking Strickland's blood live on pay-per-view, and Page burning down Strickland's childhood home less than two weeks after Strickland had bought it. Page admitted that getting personal was difficult for both men, but all of those previously mentioned moments were all reasons why fans loved their feud so much.

"Outside of the personal things that happened between us, that just in itself was exciting to see unfold for fans, and the personal things that unfolded between us, they were difficult. It was difficult for me as a person to keep coming to work every week and deal with. And on the flip side, soon after, I know it was difficult for him. It was something extremely personal that in some ways we didn't have a choice but to let it play out in front of the world. But in some ways we did allow it to. We welcomed people into our lives in a very intimate way. I think people appreciate that."

After everything they did to each other, Page and Strickland finally got to a point where they could fight a common enemy, and Strickland ended up helping Page win the AEW World Championship from Jon Moxley at All In Texas. In response, Page did something on the following week's "AEW Dynamite" that he never thought he would do; he said thank you to Strickland.

Please credit the original source when using quotes from this article, and thanks to Bleacher Report for the transcription.